Building Relationships with Parents/First Days of School
Christi Huskison
Middle Grades Language Arts
Three Stories . . . . . . . . Empower them, Care About Them, Involve Them
They Have Questions . . . .
Students:
Where do I sit? Where do I put my stuff?
What are we going to be doing in here?
Who is going to be my friend in this class?
What can I get away with?
What does s/he really think about students/kids?
Parents:
How will we communicate with each other?
Does s/he know what s/he’s doing?
How is s/he going to treat my child?
Rules vs. Procedures: What They Need to Know From the First Day
How you want them to enter the room and start class
How you will get their attention
How students will get your attention
How the movement of people and work will take place
What to do when they are absent
How to end class and leave the room
First Round Draft Pick . . . . Parents
Here’s Your Rope . . . . chuskison@jcpsmail.org 
Student Information
Below are a few questions that will help me to learn a little bit more about you. Use
the back if necessary.
Your name:________________________________
What are your talents, interests or hobbies? (examples: reading, sports, movies,
music, etc.)
If you could spend one day with any three people (celebrities, musicians, people from
history, relatives, living or dead), who would you pick and why?
What is your most prized possession?
What is your greatest fear?
Who are your favorite bands/musical artists? What is your favorite song right now?
What do you think would be the perfect job?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you choose to live and why?
What was your favorite book/story as a child? What has been your favorite book in
middle school?
List any books you read and/or movies you saw this summer and tell me which ones
you liked best and why.
What is the single most important thing that you want me to know about you?
26 August 2014
Dear Parents:
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome both you and your student to eighth
grade at Fairview! The Eighth Grade Team is excited about this school year and what
the year will bring as we work, learn, and have fun together. Each teacher on the
team will have slightly different classroom expectations, but we are all committed to
helping your child be successful in every part of his/her eighth grade experience.
In Language Arts this year, your student should expect to read and write every day,
but they should never expect the same way of reading and writing from day to day.
Students will work independently, with partners, and in small groups interacting with
fiction and non-fiction through novels, poetry, essays, articles, online texts, plays,
short stories, and a variety of informational texts. We will work hard, but we will also
have fun and get more comfortable with reading and writing as we prepare for high
school.
The EOG for Language Arts is a reading comprehension test, therefore, students will
be asked to read for 100 minutes per week outside of class and turn in Reading Logs
signed by a parent each Friday as a homework grade. I do not assign much homework
other than the weekly Reading Log, so turning these in will be very important to your
student’s grade as well as for strengthening his/her comprehension skills. I cannot
stress enough the importance of reading outside of class to your student’s performance
on the EOG! The first reading log will be due next Friday, September 6. Please look for
your student’s reading log each week, so you can review and sign it.
I will do my very best to communicate with you regularly about your student’s
progress in Language Arts, but please feel free to contact me with any concerns you
may have now or anytime during the upcoming school year. I can be reached most
easily at school between 2:45 and 3:45 pm at 828/586-2819, but please leave a
message anytime, and I will call you back as soon as I can. You can also email me at
chuskison@jcpsmail.org, and I will respond as quickly as possible.
Please sign and return the bottom portion of this letter including the best way for me
to contact you. Thank you so much for trusting us with your student’s education, and
I look forward to a great year with the Fairview Class of 2014!
Christi Huskison
Eighth Grade Language Arts
Student Name:____________________________________________________
Parent/Guardian Signature:_________________________________________________
Parent Phone_____________________________
Email_________________________________
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